Blessed & Broken

Chapter 17

“Luke”, I whispered as my eyes widened. I didn’t know what to do. Did I run? Do I act like a b***h to him? Memories from the last time I saw him flooded back to me like a dam breaking. I was so completely caught off guard, like a deer in head lights and my feet held me like anchors that kept me in place.

He looked different from the boy that I once knew. His bulky figure was now one of a lean athlete. He was very clean cut and well groomed. He wore what looked to be an expensive sport outfit and a ball cap on his head.

“Kalia”, Luke said again with an excited smile. I returned his expression, even though mine seemed more awkward than his. “How are you?”, he asked as he stepped closer to me. “I’m good, thanks.” My voice was slightly shaking.

The barista saved me by bringing my coffee. When he told me the price, Luke stepped up and said, “Please, let me.” He opened his wallet and handed the man behind the counter a twenty-dollar bill. “Keep the change”, he announced.

Luke then turned to me and he guided me by the arm off to the side so that the person behind me could receive their order. “Thank you, Luke.  You didn’t have to do that’, I sheepishly said. “It’s no problem”, he assured me.

We stood there for a second, lost for words. “It seems like it’s been forever since I have last saw you”, he said. All I could seem to do was nervously smile. He extended his arm towards a table. “Would you care to join me?”

Internally, I was in a frenzy. “Well, I don’t...” I started to say until he interjected.

“Just for a cup of coffee.” At this point, I felt obligated. I didn’t have anywhere to be and he did just buy me my coffee.

I looked around. “Um...sure.” He pulled a chair out for me and I sat. “You look great”, he admired as he took his seat across the table. “Thank you”, I responded. He sat there looking at me for a moment before asking, “So, what have you been up to since school?”

“I teach Kindergarten at Lockert Elementary.” My responses were short and I didn’t ask him questions. I was hoping that my coffee would cool quickly so I could slam it and leave. Unfortunately, it was piping hot.

Luke broke the awkward silence that was thick between us. “Hey, Kali?” I looked up from my cup. “I need to apologize.” My head straightened as I listened. “I’m sorry for the way that I treated you when we were together in high school.”

I let out a nervous giggle and looked at my hands wrapped around my cup. “Oh, you know? That was so long ago.” Luke leaned forward and placed his hands against mine. “No, please”, he pleaded. “I was not good to you and I treated you awful. I didn’t realize how wonderful you really were.” He hung his head in shame, then looked back to me. “I had a lot of growing up to do.” I looked up into his eyes. He really did seem sincere. “Could you forgive me?”, he asked.

The corners of my mouth went up slightly. In some sort of way, I felt relief. “Of course,”, I said softly. A smile appeared on his face as he sat back and said, “Thank you.”

As our talk went on, I became more relaxed. This was the first conversation in a while that I was really present to. Before I knew it, two hours had gone by. We had talked about so much. We conversed about Luke partnering with his father in business to our old friends in school.

“I must be going”, I said as I looked at the time. A slight glimpse of disappointment came across his face. “Oh, ok.” He rose from his chair when I did. “It was so good to see you again, Kal.” He reached out to give me a hug. I felt a sting in my heart. Even though the embrace felt good, it was nowhere near the way Ian would hug me. “Yeah, you too”, I said

When I stepped out of the café, I took in a deep breath and let it out. What a shock to my system that was. I survived it, and it wasn’t as bad as I would have thought. As I walked past the windows of the shop, I could see Luke through my peripheral vision, standing there by the table where we just sat, watching me as I walked away.

A few weeks had gone by since I had seen Luke. I was getting out of the shower and I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. I wasn’t impressed with what I saw. I looked miserable; I needed to try harder. I needed to not only do it for me, but for my family. I didn’t need to put them through worry, so from that moment on, I started to pay more attention to my everything. My mood, the way I was around people, even to how I looked. 

One evening, I sat at the dining room table grading some papers when the phone rang. “Hello?”, I answered. “Kalia”, a man’s voice called on the other end. “Yes?”

“Hey, Kal, it’s Luke.” My pulse gave an extra thump. “Oh, Hi”, I said trying to keep a calm voice. “How are you?”, he asked. I started to fidget with a paperclip that laid on the table before me. “I’m good, thanks.” Luke happily said, “Good!”

“Look, Kal. It was really nice seeing you, again.” I didn’t know what to say, but I couldn’t be rude. “It was good seeing you, too”, I responded back. I could hear his smile on the other end of the line. 

“I’m calling because, I have a benefit gala that I need to attend next weekend and I was wondering if you would accompany me to it?” I was stunned where I sat. What the hell was I supposed to say? I thought our meeting at the coffee shop would be the last I would see of him.

“I uh....I would love to, but I can’t.” Oh, why did he have to put me into an awkward position?  I could hear the disappointment in his voice. “Why not?”, he asked. Why does there have to be an explanation for everything? Think fast Kali.

“I've never been to anything as fancy as a gala before and honestly, I wouldn’t have anything to wear. I don’t think I would be able to find anything appropriate on such short notice.” He chuckled and reassuringly said, “I have that all taken care of. I have a friend who is a designer. I will have her contact you about your measurements. She will pick out the perfect gown for you.”

“What?”, I thought to myself. Gala? Designer? Gown? He totally put me on the spot. I had a feeling that no matter what excuse I would give him, he would have an answer.

“Luke, you really don’t have to do all of that.” He softly spoke, “I want to.” I looked up to the ceiling and let out a quiet sigh. “Ok. I’ll go with you.” I felt his victory through the phone.

“Great!”, he exclaimed. “My friend’s name is Coral. She will call you tomorrow to get your size. My mouth went dry. “Ok”, I said. “I’ll pick you up around seven Saturday night.” Again, all I could say was, “Ok.”

“See you then”, Luke promised. “I’ll see you”, I said. “Goodnight, Kal.” “Goodnight, Luke.”

I heard a click on the other end. I looked at the phone resting in my palm.  I then put my head into my hand and groaned, “Oh no. What have I done?”

As promised, Coral called the next day and asked me about a million questions about my body. Size, shape, and every other measurement in between. She even asked me what shape earlobes I have. Earlobes?

I told her it would just be a lot easier if she could measure me in person. When I asked if she had a studio nearby, she told me that her place was located in New York and that was where my gown would be made. Made? My gown was going to be personally made for me?

“Is this real life right now?”, I asked myself. Maybe I had been over worked and this was all just a hallucination. That had to be it. 

Later in the week, I received another call from Coral stating that she would personally be dropping off my gown on Saturday afternoon. I started to get nervous. What was I thinking by saying yes to all of this?

Saturday morning had come. I barley slept at all the night before. Every time I would fall into as close to a deep sleep as I could, I would go into a dream about me falling on my face or spilling food all over my dress at the gala. This was becoming more trouble than it was worth

The phone rang, breaking me out of my thought. “Hello?”, I answered. “Hi, Kali.” I took a deep breath. “Hey, Luke”, I greeted. “I was just calling to confirm tonight at seven.” I wanted to cancel. I wanted to make an excuse why I couldn’t go. “Yes”, I answered. “Great! See you then”, he said. 

Just then, the doorbell rang. I looked out my bedroom window and saw a black BMW sitting in my driveway. I went downstairs and answered the door. 

Standing there was a very thin, well-dressed woman. She was holding a large garment in a zipped bag slung over her arm. “Kalia?”, she questioned. “Yes”, I answered. The woman smiled. “I’m Coral.” I could feel the surprise on my face. “Oh, please come in. I didn’t think that you were coming until this afternoon.”

Coral giggled and said, “I decided to come earlier in case I needed to make some alterations. Now, where can we do the fitting?”

I told her that we could go up to my room. As I followed Coral up the stairs. I couldn’t help but notice how sheik she looked. I felt like a dirty ole dish rag next to her.

She hung the gown carefully onto the closet door. “Ready?”, she asked with a smile of anticipation. “Yes”, I nodded my head, mirroring her excitement.

She unzipped the garment cover and pulled back the material. My eyes widened and my lips parted as I feasted them upon one of the most beautiful dresses I have ever saw. “What do you think?”

“It’s one of the most exquisite things that I have ever seen”, I complimented. Coral’s smile got brighter. “May I touch it?”, I asked. She nodded her head, “Of course.”

I placed the gray silk fabric between my fingers and felt the soft, smooth material. I took one hand and gently ran it across the delicate beading and jewels. It was simply breathtaking.

“Now, let’s try it on” she instructed. I undressed as she took the gown off the hanger. She helped place the dress over my head and the fluid material glided effortlessly down my body.

Coral clapped her hands together. “Yay, it fits you perfect”, she said proudly. I giggled at her comment and stared at myself in the mirror. The dress shimmered in the sun light that peaked through the window. A long slit from the bottom to the middle of my thigh, exposed just enough skin. My stomach started doing flip flops as this was all becoming so real.

I turned to Coral and said, “This dress is so beautiful and I feel like a real-life

 princess in it, but I’m not sure that I can afford it.” She tilted her head as I went on. “I’m a Kindergarten teacher and.” She then interrupted me. “It’s all taken care of Miss Stone.”

I looked at her as she said, “Mr. DeVil is footing the bill.” As much as I loved this gown, I didn’t want Luke paying for it. “Can I ask how much it is?”, I questioned out of curiosity. Coral looked at me blankly and answered, “Ten thousand dollars.”

“Holy s**t”, I thought. She went over to a black case that laid on the bed. She slipped the clips on the case up and lifted the lid. Inside, there sat a beautiful necklace and earrings that were adorned in diamonds.

“Are those real?”, I asked in disbelief. She let out a slight laugh. “Of course, they are. You don’t think Mr. DeVil would allow you to wear something like a cubic zirconia, would you?” I shrugged my shoulders and said, “They’ve always worked for me.”

She rolled her eyes as if I knew nothing about sophistication. “Now, these jewels are only on loan. I will be back tomorrow to retrieve them from you before I go back to New York,”

She looked down at her watch and announced, “I have to go. I have a lunch meeting in twenty minutes.” She looked at me and said, “Guard that jewelry with your life.” I nodded, “I will.” Coral smiled at me. “Have a wonderful time tonight.” I smiled back and said, “Thank you for everything.”

As she left, I returned to look at myself in the mirror. The girl in the reflection looked as if she didn’t belong in something so gorgeous. Thank God for make-up. I took a deep breath and let it out. “This is going to take all afternoon”, I thought to myself.

The rest of the day, I primped myself to play the part. I tweezed, shaved and plucked. I washed and layered in everything that smelled goods. It wasn’t the easiest, but I think I pulled it off well. I just needed to put on the finishing touches. The jewelry.

 The diamond gems were in their box upon my vanity. I sat looking at the necklace that already draped upon my collar bones.

My eyes teared up as I thought about the wonderful being who gave it to me. I felt as if I was in a way, betraying him. But I needed to believe that I was keeping my promise to him by living my life.  

I closed my eyes as I held the stone in my hand. If I concentrated hard enough, I swear I could feel the tender kiss of Ian’s lips on my neck.

I cleared my throat to keep the waterworks away. I took off the pendant and placed it in my jewelry box for safe keeping. I arranged the stringed diamond around my neck and clasped the other sparkling gems onto my ears.

I glanced at the time. 6:45pm. I gathered up my nerves and my purse.  It was the moment that I needed to put my acting skills to work.

As I walked down the stairs, I could hear voices. No one was supposed to be home. Mom and George were presumably going out for the evening. As I rounded the corner of the kitchen, I saw mom and Gemma standing there talking. “Oh, what are they doing here?” I groaned to myself. I really didn’t want them to be here when Luke picked me up.

They both stopped talking and did a double take when they saw me. “Oh honey! You look stunning”, mom gushed. “Kali, you look beautiful”, Gemma complimented me in awe. They both circled me with their mouths drawn agape like two curious sharks.

“Do you have a hot date tonight with Prince Charming, Cinderella?”, Gemma joked. I blushed as I smiled. “Actually, yes.” Both of their mouths dropped open again.

“Ian!”, they exclaimed in excitement. Their eyes darting around feverishly. “Well, where is that man? I can’t wait to wrap my arms around that big cuddly bear!”, my mom said anxiously.

My smile faded and my heart felt like it was being twisted. “It’s not with Ian”, I said low. Both of their faces slowly went flat. “Oh, I’m sorry honey.  I didn’t mean to presume”, my mom said apologetically. “It’s ok, Mom”, I reassured her.

Just then, the doorbell rang. “He’s here!”, mom and Gemma both squealed. They followed me as I went to the door. I wish they would have stayed in the kitchen. “You look beautiful, sweetheart”, my mom relieved me.

I placed my hand onto the metal door knob and turned it. Here goes nothing. I opened the door slowly. On the other side, Luke stood holding one single red rose. He looked incredibly handsome.

His brilliant white teeth shined bright in the background of the night. He wore a black tuxedo and slick black leather shoes. His cologne was a little overpowering, but still smelled good. He looked as if he just stepped out of a magazine.

I smiled to him as he handed me the rose. “Kalia, you look beautiful.” He took one hand and pulled my arm up so that he could continue to admire me. When he was finished, he asked, “Are you ready?” I smiled, nodding my head, and intertwining my arm with his.

As I turned behind me to close the door, I looked back and caught a glimpse of both mom and Gemma. The look on their faces is one that I will never forget. Shock and sadness would be the way to describe it best. Shame washed over me.